A strawberry a day... -#435

...isn't really enough. But given the constraints and country gardenish-ness of our section here, we've taken to planting strawberries in terracotta wall planters.

Taste great, though...

By any other name - #434

The Albertine rose.

Our two specimens are full on at the moment.

The only improvement I could think of would be a longer flowering season.

One blast and they're gone until next year....

Tags: Albertine, rose

Just call me Herb - #433

This is why I just love this time of year...

DIY with a difference - #432

Dexheim, one of the small villages nestled in the countryside to the south of Mainz, is best known for being home to one of the few US military facilities that survived the end of the Cold War.

It's also got a thriving DIY mentality.

The land behind the old school was a wilderness for years and a team of locals got together and said "Let's make a garden where people can come and play with their kids and bring a picnic if they want to"

The annual "Open Garden" this month marked its completion and it's just so cool.

The centrepiece is a fan-garden, with a semi-circle of colour-focused flower beds emanating from gravel seating area.

They've also got a herb garden, with medicinal and culinary beds and they're busy building a covered seating area for those damp days.

Quite excellent

"x" Marx the spot - #431

Bad-Kreuznach - about 30 minutes from Mainz and where I've been incarcerated for the past 3 weeks - has some fascinating sons and daughters.

Eberhard Anheuser, who went on to make Milwaukee famous

Johann Faust, the alchemist on whom the Faust tale is said to be based.

Marcel Proust visited the town with his mother in 1895. (What a nice lad...)

Frank the Potter was christened in the church of St Paul, pictured above

And Karl Marx married Jenny von Westphalen in the same church a couple of years earlier.

1843, to be precise

Peonies...#430

Waiting to blossom.

jb is back tomorrow.

Cat's eye...#429

Please forgive another gratuitous cat photo, but the reflection of me taking the picture in Poppy's eye freaked me out at bit.

Artisan market...#428

On a hot tip from Mrs jb, I took myself off to the Artisan Market today. As I was wandering around admiring everything, this rusty ironwork garden wall hanging thingy caught my eye. Now all I need is a garden wall on which it could hang.

In addition to the iron work, there were milliners, jewelery designers, woodworkers, potters of all persuasions and sundry others, displaying their creations. So many pretty, shiny things.

Sunflowers...#427

For no other reason than this picture makes me happy.

Saffron robes...#426

While it is quite common to see people in religious dress in Mainz, I haven't spotted any Buddhist Monks before. Perhaps they are here with the Dalai Lama. Whatever the reason, it was lovely to see them.

Spargel...#425

Spargel (Asparagus - especially the white variety) is the greatest vehicle for Hollandaise Sauce ever invented (except for, perhaps, poached eggs). Yes, we are in the grips of Spargel Fever over here in Germany to the moment. The markets are heaving with it, you can get it from street side vendors, you can get it direct from the farmer, you can get it from the supermarket - whichever way you choose, just don't forget it peel it, as I did on my first go at cooking it. It tends to be stringy.

Spring flowers...#424

Seriously, I wanted to buy them all. Instead, I bought none. It is fun to look though.

And it came to pass...#423

...in the year of our Lord MMVIII that Moguntium V was sorely rebuffed as they strove to capture the pinnacle of the Divisionum Secundus and were again cast down into the depths of Paderbornus and Osnabruckum for yet another year.

And the populace and the gladiators of Moguntium V did wail bitterly and chant in chorus "Oh Lord, why must you punish us so? Could Thou not have cast magic on the gladiators of Hoffenheimus and given them two left feet, just for yesterday?"

And the Lord appeared before them and they showed great fear and hid their faces from Him.

And the Lord spake thus:

"Look at thee alll! Thou truly art a worthless lot and remindeth Me of the parable that Saint Peter doth relate."

"A man cometh to the Pearly Gates and saith " Ah, St Peter, mate. Sorry I'm somewhat tardy, squire, but I was delayed in getting here, what with helping old ladies across the road, and popping into church to do a few Hail Marys and sorting the rubbish into bio-degradable and otherwise, not to mention separating paper, tins and plastic"

And Saint Peter said " Thou toad. I know thee for years, thou that stoppeth not for children on the zebra crossing and parketh in mobility challenged parking spaces and flicks thy fag ends out of the car window onto the road and jumps queues, elbows and all, at Aldimus market. Thou only started on getting brownie points when thou heard the Grim Reaper rattling his chains in the neighbourhood. Get thee forth and try yourweasel words on a more gullible bugger"

And the people looked blank-faced, not having got the jist of the Lord's parable.

And the Lord saith "My oath, thou art a thick lot."

"Thou thinketh that just by knocking the spots off Saint Paulus 5:1 in the last battle, thou shall be welcomed into the Heaven of the Divisionum Primus and wallow in the richness of its fertile fields and pig out on milk and honey? Nay, it worketh not like that one bit"

"Did thee not think to pull out thy digit in the battle against Allemania Aachen in thy own coliseum on the Via Broco but a week ago? Or Erzgebirge Aue, I mean 3-3, what were thee thinking? And thou wart bloody lucky against Kaiserslautern, too. People doth always leaveth things to the last minute, just like the sodding unicorns on the Ark"

And Gladiator Gunkelus diid mutter "This bastard's worse than the Prophet Kloppo", ignorant of the fact that the Lord heareth and seeth all.

And the Lord was angry and said "Oi! Gladiator Gunkelus! Dost thou not know that I am the Lord God Almighty, who heareth and seeth all. And Gladiator Gunkelus was meek and saw the error of his ways and said "Oh, shit, I'm in for it now")

And the Lord said "Verily thou art deeply in for it, Gunkelus, thee who hung around the pitch for 90 minutes in the battle against Allemania Aachen like a spare whatsit at a matrimus and then declare "we shall have to pull out all the stops at the next battle" Dost thou not realise that the patrons of the Via Broco do dig deep into their toga pockets each week to pay you piles of denari to do EXACTLY THAT?.At every battle?

"If thou dost not shape up, I shall cast thee like thy namesake into the lions' den and this time there shall not be some softy Leo with a thorn in his paw so that thee can play the hero. Nay, thou shalt be cast into the Ultra pen and see how thou liketh that!"

And the Prophet Kloppo did become impatient and saith

"Sod this for a game of gladiators. I'm off to a new coliseum, where they will ply me with sacrificial virgins and caskets of dosh and roll out the red carpet"

And the Lord was verily angry with the Prophet Kloppo and said "I am the Lord God Almighty, who heareth and seeth all, so just hang on a minute, mate. Thy halo is sorely tarnished, for thou hast truly cocked up this season, especially when choosing reinforcements at critical phases in the battle. I mean, what were you thinking of, sport? Leaving thy best galdiators festering on the bench in the battle of Colonia?"

And the Prophet Kloppo was meek and hung his head in shame, for he knew that the Lord was right (And he just hoped that there weren't too many others about who heareth and seeth all like the Lord...)

And the Lord did continue to wax wrath and saith, with an eye firmly fixed on Senator Christianus Heidelus and Presidentus Haraldus Strutzius

"And thou villains knoweth full well that thou hast pulleth the wool over the eyes of virtually everyone for thy new Coliseum Cofacius in Bretzenheimus."

"But I am the Lord God Almighty, who heareth and seeth all just in case thou hast forgotten and I know full well that thou hast indulged in some very dodgy creative accounting and that the populace of Moguntium will be sorely burdened for generations to come to pay for your graven image."

"And it shall come to pass that an ecological survey shall determine that the graven image of the Coliseum Cofacius will block the flow of the good ethers to the populace of Moguntia and it shall not be built and thou shalt be condemned to spend your Fridays, Sundays and Mondays at the Coliseum Via Broco"

And thus did end the military campaign of the Divisionum Secundus of the year of our Lord MMVIII.

Not very well for all concerned.

Rosebud!...#422

So, I met jb yesterday. What a hoot. I wrote more about it over here. The lovely Mrs jb bought me a gorgeous bunch of roses that smell divine. Having some flowers in the house gave me a perfect opportunity to muck around with the macro function on my little happy-snappy digital camera.

Yo, Helen - #421a

In the tradition of the classic jailbreak, Helen baked me a cake with a file in it, facilitating my escape from the asylum.

Thought the least I could do was to buy her a coffee at the Tin Shed On Wheels before I change my identity, have plastic surgery and disappear to South America on tonight's flight, so off we toddled/hobbled to the market.

Great to get a decent cup of coffee from nice people, even better to drink in the company of someone as cool as Helen.

On second thoughts, I think I'll stay after all.

(Anyone want a seat on the 23:30 flight to Rio tonight...?)

Dum-Dum-Di-Dum...#421

There it was - larger than life - a wedding cake, in the middle of the laneway! The mind boggles.

PS: Thanks for the coffee and flowers, Mr & Mrs jb!

It's a dog's life...#420

I saw this happy dog at the markets today. Dogs seem to be welcome at most places here.

Remis velisque...#419

You have no idea how long I've waited to drop that little nugget of Latin into conversation. It translates to "with oars and sails" (and incidentally was my high school's motto).

This is a reconstruction of one of the Roman boats whose ruins were found during the early stages of laying the foundations for the extension of the Hilton in Mainz. Naturally, jb has already blogged about the discovery and the ensuing formation of the Museum of Roman Shipbuilding on Neutorstrasse (where this picture was taken).

Pressing matters...#418

Yet another sculpture dedicated to Gutenburg and his printing press. This one is near the ruined church of St Christopher in the centre of town.

Monkey see, monkey do...#417

Presenting my darling nephew Ben and my dynamo niece Sarah doing their best impersonation of the Carnival statue (behind) in Schillerplatz. Their 3 week visit unfortunately coincided with 3 weeks of really terrible weather in April, hence the heavy duty coats.

Despite the chaos these two apparently innocent looking children wrought on our lives during their visit, I miss them terribly.

PS. Strasbourg rocks! I highly recommend a visit, if you are in the neighbourhood.

Do you believe in magic..? - #416

Alchemilla --- Lady's Mantel is a definite favourite.

Easy to grow, good ground cover, medicinal benefits for female plumbing.

The Latin name means "little magical one", referring to the way that dew gathers in droplets on the surface of the leaves.

Either that, or people thought that the dew turned into globules of silver.

Think I prefer the second version, actually....

Dätwyl - #415

A hop, skip and 30 minute drive from here is Wintersheim, a wine growing village surrounded by a forest of wind turbines.

The REAL reason for going there is Dätwyls, a wine bar run by Heiko Dettweiler and his wfe Heike.

Found out about it after Birgit, Star Journalist from over the road, did a "A Year in the Life" series for the local rag a few years back, following a family farm through the seasonal cycle.

There's not a lot that can beat sitting in the courtyard on a late spring evening, enjoying the wines and food, playing with the Labradors and chatting with Heiko.

Definitely one of the Good Guys

Tags: Dätwyl, Dettweiler, wine, Heiko Dettweiler, Heike Dettweiler, Wintersheim

Bad Kreuznach #414

Bad Kreuznach is a spa town about a 30 minute drive from Mainz.

'Bad' - 'Bath' in German is a dead giveaway and it's the sort of place where High Society went to 'take the waters' in better times.

These days it's full of decrepit quadrupeds learning to walk again.

Like me.

But it's still a very attractive place, just oozing understated elegance, with a big park and a flash hotel and the River Nahe runing through it.

The river in fact divides into a raging torrent (which disappears around the back of aforementioned flash hotel) and a genteel stream that runs through the town before they reunite and charge off downstream together to conflue in the Rhine.

And to think that the Gummit's paying for me to have 3 weeks vacation here.....

Petrolheads #413

Helen's zipped off the Strasbourg for the weekend (more power to her elbow, too) and I'm stranded here out in the woops, trying to get my bionic leg to behave like a normal appendage (and not flap around like a manic weathervane.) More over at "You must be from away" if you're vaguely interested.
So it's the Bad Kreuznach Daily Photo until Helen's back.
This is what the inhabitants of Northern England must have felt like when the Vikings invaded back in the middle of the last millennium...
Yesterday afternoon, there was a roar of unmuffled exhausts and 200 vintage car nutters from the Netherlands descended on the city and proceeded to rape, pillage and create mayhem to their hearts' content. (Actually, they mostly sat around eating cheese, drinking coffee and being exceptionally pleasant, which is what Dutch people tend to do).
As well as clean the points and plugs, top up the oil, look for leaks and the other sorts of things you do if you've ever had an old car. (Tell me about it...)
Bad-Kreuznach is the second to last stage of the Tulpen Rally that runs 3000km through France, Switzerland and Germany and it's all pretty serious stuff, with the cars packed with stopwatches, calculators and Satnavs.
Some choice cars - Mini Cooper S, Lotus Elans, more Austin Healy 3000s than you could shake a stick at, Sunbeam Tigers (used to be a sedate little semi-sports car until Carrol Shelby squeezed a 4.7 litre V8 under the bonnet and turned it into something that gets 0 mpg and gives you nosebleeds when you drop the clutch
Plus my very first car - an MGA.
Except this guy's modified his with disc brakes, a 1.8 litre engine and a 5 speed gearbox.
And to think that I sold mine for £25....

Hintere Christofsgasse...#412

I still find it interesting just to wander about town and poke about the laneways.

Funky door...#411

Not only do they do a good graveyard in Germany, they also love a 'statement' door. This door graces the entrance of an apartment building opposite the Karmelite Church in the city.

Crocs!...#410

Love them or hate them, Crocs seem to be everywhere. This particular display was spotted outside one of the shops in the pedestrian zone in Mainz.

They do come in a pleasing array of colours.

Angel...#409

On a whim, I got off the tram on my way home and took a stroll through the Hauptfriedhof (cemetery) today. Wow! The Germans do a good graveyard! It was touching to see so many people tending to their loved ones' graves. Spring flowers have replaced the winter heathers and the little hedge borders that commonly surround the graves are trimmed. This particular angel caught my eye.

Cat with Sticks...#408

Modern art, or impending disaster....discuss.

It is inevitable that when I'm trying to photograph anything, the cat will find the whole process so interesting that he feels he has to be involved.

No cats were harmed in the making of this post.

Backyard idyll...#407

We fostered Australian/German relations by holding a traditional Australian bbq this evening (our new bbq can be seen in the background - blurrily). Roast chook, beer and riesling. Can't get more multicultural than that. Can you? Perhaps you can. Let me know!

Dativius Victor Arch...#406

I stumbled across this arch the other day, while my niece and nephew played in the park nearby. The church in the background is Christ Church. The arch depicts the signs of the zodiac.

Theme Day - Numbers

The weather's been picking up around here and we've been seeing a lot of these cumulus numbers cloud formations recently.

Here's one from the 5th floor of the St Vincenz hospital..

They used to be called cumulo nimbus (or something quite similar), nimbus coming from the Latin meaning "a luminous cloud or halo surrounding a supernatural being or saint".

That would be Ms jb, then, doing a wonderful job of looking after me in my hour of need in the abattoir.

Given that there's so many around, though, they then got renamed cumulo numerous, causing all sorts of problems between people who spell properly and the Americans (who supposedly wanted to spell it numeruz), so it got simplified to cumulo numbers.

I think that's the story, anyway.

The usual suspects are on board, butI can't get the links working from this medieval hospice.